Battle of Ridgeway's Folly
The Battle of Ridgeway's Folly was a minor engagement of the Human-Covenant War in 2527. The small Covenant fleet Strong Condemnation arrived near and moved aggressively against the human mining colony of Ridgeway's Folly, but was intercepted by two UNSC battle groups. While UNSC casualties were heavy, Covenant losses were total, and Ridgeway's Folly was evacuated with no civilian casualties. Background Ridgeway's Folly was a small, barren planet on the edge of Human space; settled by a mining corporation in late 2524, the planet's human population numbered just 1,800 colonials, housed around the primary mine site. A tiny colony lacking practically any distinguishing traits, Ridgeway's Folly did not initially warrant a defensive task force from the United Nations Space Command. Following the destruction of several colonies in 2526, UNSC Fleet Command reversed itself and ordered a deployment to Ridgeway's Folly. Critically, the battle group did not arrive until late November; nineteen days earlier, the Covenant missionary vessel Song of Solace stumbled upon Ridgeway's Folly, observing a freighter as it made ready to depart. Song of Solace returned to Covenant space shortly thereafter, and conveyed its report to High Charity in early December. Deeming the planet a minor and undefended settlement, a small Covenant fleet of five warships was subsequently deployed against Ridgeway's Folly. UNSC Battle Group Delta-5 arrived at Ridgeway's Folly on November 30, 2526; the battle group, under the command of Captain Aaron Jacobson, comprised a destroyer and two frigates. Delta-5 guarded Ridgeway's Folly for the remainder of the year without incident. In January, the colony received orders to begin preparations for evacuation: the mining corporation, after discussion with the UNSC, had decided to terminate its operations on Ridgeway's Folly and focus on safer, less distant projects. On January 27, an additional task force of seven warships arrived, accompanying the evacuation transports: UNSC Battle Group Foxtrot-3, commanded by Rear Admiral Tiffany Gauthier. Gauthier was under orders to safeguard the evacuation until its completion on January 30, and to then rendezvous with other UNSC battle groups near Harvest. However, on January 29, the Covenant fleet Strong Condemnation arrived some 20 million kilometers from Ridgeway's Folly, where it was immediately detected by both UNSC battle groups. Engagement Strong Condemnation moved towards Ridgeway's Folly, conducting a short in-system jump towards the human colony. As the Covenant fleet reverted to realspace, it came under fire from the warships of Rear Admiral Gauthier's Battle Group Foxtrot-3. In one of the few successful ambushes of a Covenant task force, UNSC warships scored numerous missile hits against unshielded Covenant vessels, moderately damaging the cruiser Faith and Fury and lightly damaging the destroyer Unfettered Wrath. Of the three Covenant corvettes, each sustained minimal damage, with the most serious done to Loyal Blade. Fleet Master Lav 'Utaralee, believing Gauthier's attack to be a distraction while the colony evacuated, ordered Unfettered Wrath and the corvette Energetic Resolution to continue against Ridgeway's Folly and prevent any such evacuation attempt; the remainder of the fleet would deal with the aggressive human battle group. Turning his attention to Foxtrot-3, 'Utaralee directed corvettes Faithful Blade and Loyal Blade to deploy their fighters and target the Human light screen while the cruiser Faith and Fury engaged the Human cruiser and destroyers. With a screen of fifty-seven fightersSeven of the fighters aboard Loyal Blade were destroyed by the missile hits suffered in the first minutes of the engagement., both corvettes engaged the human frigates Imperious and Western Wind, though the destroyer Lanrezac quickly moved to support them. Faith and Fury fired its first shots of the engagement, destroying the UNSC Precautionary and damaging both the Courageous and the Bougainville; additional missiles from UNSC warships failed to penetrate the Covenant cruiser's shields. Evidently convinced of the invulnerability of his shields, Fleet Master 'Utaralee ordered a second volley prepared, this time focused on the Courageous. As the guns of Faith and Fury recharged, however, the UNSC Lanrezac fired its magnetic accelerator cannon and obliterated the corvette Faithful Blade, astonishing the Fleet Master. 'Utaralee promptly redirected the second volley against the immediate human vessels, destroying both the Lanrezac and the frigate Western Wind. This decision proved fatal, as it provided just enough time to the remaining warships of Foxtrot-3 to finish charging their primary armaments; all but the damaged Bougainville fired their magnetic accelerator cannons (a total of five guns) at the Faith and Fury, with four of the five rounds striking the cruiser. The first two cannon rounds - those from the Agincourt and the Imperious - brought down the Faith and Fury's shields, while both rounds from the Courageous tore though the hull, exploding the Covenant cruiser instantly. Suddenly alone, the Covenant corvette Loyal Blade moved to disengage, but was targeted and destroyed by the now-ready Bougainville. The battered ships of Foxtrot-3 engaged and destroyed the remaining Covenant fighters, while the Courageous moved towards the colony. As the larger half of Strong Condemnation moved against Gauthier's battle group, the smaller half made a short jump towards Ridgeway's Folly, intending to destroy any human evacuation craft present and return to the fleet promptly. This proved not as simple as expected, as shortly after transitioning close to the colony, the three warships of Battle Group Delta-5 swung around the planet and opened fire. Both frigates scored hits with their main cannons, though only Constrictor's resulted in a kill: Energetic Resolution exploded violently as the MAC round tore through it. The shields of the destroyer Unfettered Wrath, however, easily deflected the round from the UNSC Starlight Guardian, as well as the missiles from the Medina Ridge. The twenty-one fighters that had deployed from the corvette prior to its destruction engaged the UNSC warships immediately, enabling Unfettered Wrath to easily inflict damage on the Constrictor, temporarily disabling the frigate. The Covenant destroyer then disengaged from the fight and moved towards Ridgeway's Folly, intent on carrying out its orders. With his cannon offline and missiles depleted, Lieutenant Commander Dmitri Zheng, CO of the Starlight Guardian, disobeyed standing orders and initiated an abandon ship before ramming the Unfettered Wrath at full speed. The impact of the UNSC Starlight Guardian snapped the human frigate practically in half, but successfully brought down the destroyer's shields. Exposed and without countermeasures, the Unfettered Wrath was shot through and exploded by the main cannon of the UNSC Medina Ridge.As with all Battle-class destroyers, the Medina Ridge was fitted with two magnetic accelerator cannons; however, one of its guns was disabled by attacking Covenant fighters. With the arrival of the Courageous, the remainder of the Covenant fighter screen was exterminated by UNSC forces. Aftermath Following the destruction of the last Covenant fighter near Ridgeway's Folly, recovery of lifeboats from the Starlight Guardian was immediately undertaken; similar efforts were initiated by the rest of Foxtrot-3 for any survivors from Lanrezac, Precautionary, and Western Wind, with some success. Somewhat surprisingly, Lt. Commander Dmitri Zheng was recovered from the wreck of the Starlight Guardian, mostly unharmed. Despite disobeying an order she had given, Rear Admiral Tiffany Gauthier commended Zheng on his bravery and determination to protect the colonists; Gauthier later recommended Zheng for promotion to Commander, which was approved.Following the recovery of the black box of the Starlight Guardian, it was determined that just prior to impact, Lieutenant Commander Zheng quietly stated "I avenge you." Dmitri Zheng's immediate family - his wife, their two sons and daughter, and Zheng's father - were killed on Biko in late 2526; it is generally accepted that Lieutenant Commander Zheng did not expect to survive ramming the Covenant destroyer, and that his last-moment comment was not a sign of emotional instability. The United Nations Space Command had lost 171 personnel and four ships: the destroyers Lanrezac and Precautionary and the frigates Starlight Guardian and Western Wind. In addition, five ships had suffered varying degrees of damage: the heavy cruiser Courageous (light damage), the destroyers Bougainville (moderate damage) and Medina Ridge (light), and frigates Constrictor (severe damage) and Imperious (light damage). Nevertheless, UNSC forces scored a victory, saving the populace of Ridgeway's Folly from the Covenant. The colony was safely evacuated on January 31, 2527. The Covenant, for their part, suffered a total loss: all five ships of Strong Condemnation were destroyed, and personnel losses exceeded 3,600. Fleet Master Lav 'Utaralee was killed aboard his flagship, the cruiser Faith and Fury, when it exploded. The destruction of Strong Condemnation remained unknown to the Covenant until late 2527, when an inquiry was launched into the fleet's "disappearance". Order of battle United Nations Space Command UNSC Battle Group Foxtrot-3, Rear Admiral Tiffany Gauthier *UNSC Courageous, ''Marathon''-class heavy cruiser *UNSC Agincourt, ''Battle''-class destroyer *UNSC Bougainville, Battle-class destroyer *UNSC Lanrezac, ''Warrior''-class destroyer *UNSC Precautionary, ''Daring''-class destroyer *UNSC Imperious, ''Charon''-class light frigate *UNSC Western Wind, ''Stalwart''-class light frigate UNSC Battle Group Delta-5, Captain Aaron Jacobson *UNSC Medina Ridge, Battle-class destroyer *UNSC Constrictor, Stalwart-class light frigate *UNSC Starlight Guardian, Stalwart-class light frigate Covenant Empire Fleet of Strong Condemnation, Fleet Master Lav 'Utaralee *''Faith and Fury'', cruiser *''Unfettered Wrath'', heavy destroyer *''Energetic Resolution'', heavy corvette *''Faithful Blade'', heavy corvette *''Loyal Blade'', heavy corvette Notes